Malachi Moreno enters NBA Draft, will return to Kentucky Basketball if he withdraws
“If I’m back in college next season, it’ll be right here with Big Blue Nation.”
Kentucky's Malachi Moreno (24) scores a basket before the buzzer to give the Wildcats a 75-74 win against Louisiana State at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (Ryan C.
Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) Malachi Moreno is taking the next step in evaluating his future, announcing he will test the NBA Draft waters while maintaining the option to return to Kentucky Basketball . Jon Chepkevich of Draft Express broke the news Monday night, adding that if Moreno withdraws from the draft, it will be to play for Kentucky, so it appears the transfer portal is no longer an option for the Bluegrass product. Moreno has since confirmed the news on Instagram .
“If I’m back in college next season, it’ll be right here with Big Blue Nation,” he wrote on IG. The move allows Moreno to receive feedback from NBA scouts while preserving his college eligibility, a path many players take to better understand what they must improve before making the leap to the professional level. Moreno is coming off an impressive freshman campaign in which he exceeded expectations.
Originally viewed as a developmental piece, he was thrown into a starting role early in the season by Mark Pope due to injuries and inconsistency in the frontcourt. He went on to average 7. 8 points, 6.